Skydiving Revelations
by SunBathingDragon
Summary: Marcus/Cain has won Chloe's (rational) heart and prevented her from working with Lucifer. Only she can't forget her partner! When the whole gang is invited to Lucifer's third re-birth-day party to Lux, Cain finally shows his true colors. He has found his vulnerability miracle and acts on his greatest desire. Which finally results in Lucifer skydiving and long over-due revelations.
1. The Immortals' Micracle

**Chapter 1: The Immortals' Micracle**

„Marcus, stop! Please, stop! How could you! Let Trixie go!" Chloe yelled against the harsh wind that tore at her hair and clothes. Desperation rose up in her like a nauseating wave. She could not believe the scene enrolling before her very eyes: Her boyfriend, the man whom she had trusted and even come to love, or so she thought, was pinning her struggling daughter in a crushing grip against his broad chest. He slowly but steadily moved backwards, facing Chloe, towards the edge of Lux' flat roof. "What do you think you're doing? Marcus, _stop_!" Chloe screamed, sensing a horrible, gut-wrenching danger.

"Mommy! Mommy, _help me_!" Trixie's frightened voice was barely audible over the gushing uproar of the approaching thunderstorm. "I'm here, monkey!" Chloe could not stop herself from yelling back. Her daughter fought like a little lioness, kicking and scratching the man who held her in an iron grip. "Lemme go! Back _off_!" she screamed at Pierce, writhing like mad, trying to scratch his face. Which only resulted in a stoic, tightening grip of his, pinning the little girls' arms to her side.

"Stop fighting, little one. It'll soon be over!" Pierce reassured the girl. His emotion-deprived empty voice sent a chill down Trixie's spine. What did he want with her? Kidnap her? Jump off of the roof with her? Trixie doubled her efforts to break free of her captor, crashing back her head into his face since she could no longer use her arms. She felt her head painfully collide with his nose with a horrible cracking sound. Pierce hissed in pain, grunted, shook her and tightened his grip up to the point where the girls' breath was squeezed from her lungs. Chloe watched in horror as Trixie's kicking and struggling became weaker. Marcus still moved backwards towards the rooftops' edge, the girl tucked under his arm.

Blood dripped from Marcus' nose, but he did not seem to notice. "Either you stop right where you are, Chloe, or you jump with us. Or you shoot me. But, oh, you don't have a gun! Pity!" "Why in God's name do you _want to kill Trixie_ , Marcus? Set her free! Immediately, you bastard! _Please_!" Chloe's voice trembled between desperation, pleading and outright rage.

Damn! How could she have insisted on joining the party at Lux without having a gun with her, for once? She now recalled vividly how Marcus had tried to coax her into taking at least the little gun in her boot with her, teasing her, when the three of them had been ready for leaving for Lux. Trixie had been so exited to have been invited, too, that she had pestered Chloe until she was allowed to see Lucifer; Chloe had to admit to herself that Trixie had never warmed to Marcus the way she had adored Lucifer. Trixie had stubbornly stuck to her notion that Lucifer would have been the much better choice for her mum – and for her, too. The sign on her door still read "No boys allowed, only Lucifer and Dad!" Now that Chloe thought of it, Trixie had never changed that sign to say "Marcus allowed." And now... what the hell was Marcus up to?

Markus had teased Chloe about taking her gun with her - that Chloe _needed_ to be armed against the _Devil_ , her former partner! Chloe had outright declined, because the pure notion of Lucifer being _dangerous_ to her was completely absurd! She knew that he would never harm her or Trixie. Chloe had felt so uneasy. She could not help but think about how it would make Lucifer _feel_ if she turned up at his third re-birth-day party with _Marcus_ , now that she and Lucifer were no longer partners. Lucifer came occasionally to the station to help with a case or suspect, here and there, and he was still in friendly contact to a lot of people at the station; now that he was working with other people she had noted how they all seemed to love him despite his Luciferness. Lucifer had even been working with Dan here and there, or with Charlotte...

Chloe had been hesitant to follow his invitation and go to Lux at all. There was always this bloody persistent, nagging feeling in the back of Chloe's head that she had made a grave _mistake_ by choosing Marcus over Lucifer in the fist place. Only that Lucifer had never _wanted_ to be with her, didn't he? After he had betrayed her trust repeatedly, and after he had talked about all this rubbish of Marcus being the Cain of the Bible, she'd finally had enough and she'd snapped, breaking up their partnership. She regretted it ever since!

 _How the hell_ could she let herself get distracted at Lucifer's party and let her daughter out of sight, if only for a minute? One moment she, Marcus and all of their friends and family had joined in a sad song that Lucifer had played at his grand piano. He was singing Bill Withers " _Aint't no sunshine when she's gone_ " in this damn angelic voice of his, straight-out touching her heart. Catching her off-guard...

" _Ain't no sunshine when she's gone,_

 _And this house just ain't no home,_

 _Anytime she goes away..."_

Ella had placed herself next to Lucifer on the piano bench, singing joyfully along with him to cheer him up. Watching the two dark heads next to each other gave her the funny impression of playful siblings huddling together for comfort, Chloe thought. She feeling a tiny stich of jealousy for their closeness. How stupid of her! She had given up any claims she might have had when she had dismissed him. Back then, Marcus cheering her for it had been a consolation, but it did not sit right with her any longer. Chloe just missed... them... being partners.

Dan and Charlotte were slowly dancing to the song, enjoying their delicate blossoming friendship-turning-into-more, now that Charlotte had "opted against the dark side of the force", as Ella had put it. The new prosecutor had really turned out to be a valuable addition of their crew. Funnily enough, she often took advice from Lucifer. Chloe had watched them from afar, sticking their heads together, feeling, well, yes, left out.

Only Mazikeen was missing in their partying gang at Lux. She was on a hunt. Strangely, this time, Maze had no given any details about it, although she usually _loved_ to go into detail about her recent bounty scumbag, her hunting strategies and her victorious catches. Maze had just mentioned darkly that it had something to do with _Marcus_ , of all people. Since she, Chloe, was together with him, Maze had been tight-lipped.

Chloe had enjoyed the old gangs' company and the lovely moment. She revelled in how _good_ it actually felt to see Lucifer again, be near him! She could not help but feel _connected_ to him, it was pathetic, really, was it not? She had drunk in the sight of him: His slender, elegant figure in a bottom-up black silken shirt and a purple vest, his slightly messed-up hair with one untamed curl falling onto his forehead, and his long skilled fingers caressing the keys. And, oh yes, she noted that he wore these red-soled shoes she secretly loved on him... Chloe even had the brief impression that she could _smell_ him: A mixture of sandalwood, whiskey and a special male-ness that was just so... _Lucifer_. Wait, did he have dark shadows under his eyes? Yes. Chloe narrowed her eyes. Lucifer upheld his playboy façade perfectly, but to her trained eyes he did not look as confident and cheery as she remembered him; rather, he radiated an underlying current sadness. Chloe had watched Lucifer and mused about how much she actually missed working with him, at the same time trying hard to squash the thought. Only her thoughts jumped back to him like playful kittens that did not follow any rules!

 _How_ could Chloe have let herself be _distracted_! One moment she was spent in thoughts about her former partner, in the next moment, she was nudged into the ribs by an elbow and she heard Linda's " _Wait!_ What's Marcus doing there with Trixie?" Chloe had turned her head. Marcus left Lux, with her little monkey on his hand! What was he doing? Their glances had met across the room and she shuddered at the cold stare he gave her. Like a stranger, not like a reliable lover! As if a mask had slid away... she even had the impression he was _challenging_ her! Marcus and her daughter had stepped into the elevator, with her daughters' entire body language transporting "I don't want to, let me go!" The last movement Chloe had witnessed was her little girl trying to break free from Marcus, to escape through the closing elevator doors; and how Marcus' hand had shot forward and forcibly pulled her back.

Linda, the skilled therapist that she was, had spotted the barely concealed violence in the entire action as well. Linda was quick and direct! "Chloe! I'll run downstairs, in case he's riding downwards with her! You go upwards! _Hey! Amenadiel!_ Come with me, I may need your... strength!" Linda commanded, catching a startled Amenadiel by the wrist so that he spilled his Cosmos over his hoodie. It was almost _funny_ how the tiny woman dragged the large, bulky man from the room. But Chloe could not loose time!

"Dan, _DAN_!" Chloe shouted, grabbing his arm while she dashed forward to chase after Marcus and their daughter. Dan snapped out of his day-dreamy dancing with Charlotte, both gaping at her, startled. "Dan! Marcus snatched Trixie, dunno what he's up to - _she did not want to go with him_! I'm going upwards to the roof, you search the penthouse, ok!?"

Many things that could be said about detective douche, but he was a loving, dedicated father to Trixie. Just the prospect of harm coming to his daughter made him grind his jaw. "What?" - A quick glance passed between him and Charlotte; the latter immediately getting what was going on. Charlotte gestured "get going" with her chin to Dan who went into full cop-daddy mode in an instant. "I'm on it, Chloe! I never trusted that guy anyway, boss or not! Let's give him _hell_!" Dan took two steps in a stride as he ran upwards.

Lucifer's head had snapped back from the melancholic song he had been suspended in, back to his surroundings. Trying to make sense of the action and bustling around him. Charlotte strode forward and quickly informed Lucifer and Ella on what was going on. Lucifer sprang up, toppling the piano bench with Ella on it backwards. He grinded his teeth. Lucifers eyes would have flashed red if he had his devil face. Now, the worst had happened! Lucifer had a vague idea what Cain's motives were when he had grabbed Beatrice. The girl was in danger, but so was Chloe!

Padraig, Lucifer's chief bartender, had watched the scene through narrowed eyes. A quick exchange of glances, a nod of his boss was all that was needed: Time for a distraction! Padraig nodded grimly and quickly opened the fuse box and flipped the circuit switch behind the bar. Lux plunged into darkness, accompanied by a "ooooww!" of the crowd (who expected a special light show performance, again!). Padraig heard a strange swooping noise and when he flicked the lights on just a second later, Padraig noted to his satisfaction that his boss was gone, so he let the expected light show sequence follow, grinning. How Lucifer did do that was a mystery, but Padraig had learned to accept many strange things around Lucifer Morningstar over the last two years. Plus, the art of distraction!

Lucifer hated to use his wings, but there were more important things at stage just now than his feud with Dad! He vanished from the floor of Lux the moment the lights went off. Concentrating hard he used his wings to cross through the infernal plane. Walls and doors were no hurdle in the oddly blue parallel world he was able to enter and cross with his wings restored. The penthouse was empty. Lucifer just catched a glimpse of Dan searching the balcony.

Lucifer found them on the roof of the building, Marcus with a limp, dangling Trixie squeezed under his arm, near the abyss. And a pledging, desperate Chloe just before him. The thunderstorm had closed in, the setting sun glossing the scene with a few last golden beams from under pitch-dark looming clouds. A hefty squall, rumbling thunder and the first splatter of large, heavy raindrops hit the floor. Lucifer kept in the shadows to evaluate the situation first. His heart ached as he saw the raw agony in Chloe's face as she pleaded with Cain.

"Marcus! _Why?_ I thought you loved me, loved _us_? Why, why do you want to kill yourself? And why, in God's name, do you want to kill my _daughter_? Please, _please_! Leave Trixie out of this madness! I'd do anything, anything you want..."she swallowed, helpless. Lucifer would never ever forget the heart-wrenching desperation in Chloe's voice. Her panic, her lack of understanding, hear heartbreak. Lucifer berated himself. He had been such an idiot, he should not have left her in the dark for so long! It was _his_ fault, he should have made her _believe_ him, to warn her against Cain...!

Pierce's answer to Chloe's pleading was a maniacal laughter. "Haha, In the name of GOD, really?" he chocked, "GOOD one, Chloe! I _told_ you to bring your gun for the Devil, didn't I? You could have simply SHOT me and saved your daughter, easily, right? But NO, you wouldn't listen to reason! " _Lucifer would never hurt me_!" Cain mimicked her voice in a horrible squeaky falsetto. His eyes bulged. "You know, _darling_ (he snarled the word), it would have been so much _easier_ if you'd just SHOT me! I want to die since thousands of years! GOD condemned me to walk the earth and never DIE, I'm living in HELL!" Chloe stared at him, speechless... had everything be true that Lucifer had said to her? Or was Marcus victim to the same delusion than Lucifer, sharing it? Cain turned and looked to the edge of the building, moving backwards again. "Now I have to jump, that'll be a bit messy! And I'll take her with me to make _sure_ I die!" "No, Marcus NO! Please! I do anything...!"

Pierce took a deep, consolidating breath, cooling himself down. Then, in a cold and distant voice, "Relax, Decker! She'll just be going to the Silver City, anyway. A few years more or less for her, who cares? I've seen so many human lives come and go! It's all just in the blink of an eye, in the face of a hellish eternity!" He laughed, his voice cackling with glee. "Finally, _finally_ I have found what makes me vulnerable - killable, actually! And wonder of wonders, who would have thought it? It's Chloe's daughter, the daughter of the Devils' God-damn _miracle_!" A lightning struck nearby, and two seconds later thunder roared, mixing with Cain's maniacal laughter.

Lucifer dashed forward, a cold fury radiating off of him. "Let Beatrice go, Cain! The girl is innocent!" Cain threatened to go over the edge, with the girl tucked in his grip. "Or _what_ , Lucifer? _You'll kill me?_ – Good one, you're both masters of heavenly FUN!" Cain shook with laughter, again. "Life's funny, ain't it? It just _happens_ that the daughter of your asshole DAD's _useless_ miracle Chloe Decker is actually MY miracle! I discovered that the girl makes ME vulnerable, ME! I bleed like mad when I hurt myself when she's near! I would even have succeeded and _DIED already_ , if your stupid GOD-sent MIRACLE Decker would not have drawn me BACK from the threshold, after I got that _electroshock_ in her household, by using a heart massage on me!" Chloe's mouth fell open. She could not believe what Cain was spitting at her! She had saved his life, back then, hadn't she?

Cain seemed to be beyond himself, now rounding in on Chloe. "You couldn't have just let me DIE, you bitch? OH NO, she HAD to get me back! And I had to play the grateful boyfriend ever after! It was PATHETIC!" Trixie, who had been dangling limb from Cain's grip, was slowly coming round again, since his grip on her had weakened during the shouting. She feebly stirred and tried to free herself again, crying silently.

Lucifer could sense Chloe's immense shock and disbelief at Cain's words, her struggling to understand, on top of her all-consuming fear for Trixie. Chloe's world had been shattered before her very eyes! The man she'd thought would be more reliable than Lucifer, the safe bet, the anchor and harbour against the storm - he was just a delusional _maniac_ who was dangerous, and on the verge of killing her only child! Why had he called Lucifer "Devil"? Was he part of Lucifer's delusions?

Lucifer... he was here, again, by her side! How come she had discarded her loyal partner who had her back when it mattered most...? Lucifer squeezed Chloe's shoulder briefly. "Don't be shocked, now, my love", she heard his warm voice murmuring near her ear. Then he stepped forward in a swift, fluent movement.

As the next lighting struck and the thunder roared, two white, magnificent _freaking_ wings erupted from her partners' back and everything happened fast. As in, _really fast_! Chloe's mouth fell open as she gaped at him. Or rather, his empty space. One moment Lucifer had stood in front of her, then he was gone but immediately rematerialized just behind Marcus' back. Lucifer gripped Trixie, crushed Marcus' biceps of his Trixie-securing arm in an iron grip and wrestled the girl from Marcus' hold, taming his abnormal strength to retrieve but not harm the girl. All of Lucifer's limbs, arms and wings, worked in perfect harmony: He used his right wing (rendered softly, not the deadly weapon it could be) to shove Trixie out of the danger zone, while he simultaneously threw a punch at Marcus with his left fist. The bulky man was also quick, he dodged the Devils' punches that did not hit him with full force and ran his head into the Lucifer's chest instead, with full force, to knock him off the building. Lucifer buckled briefly, but his flapping wings regained him his balance. Then he landed a straight right blow on Cain's jaw whose head snapped back. Hitting and wresting, both, the Devil and the Immortal, quickly sprouted wounds, the first being vulnerable in Chloe's and the other in Trixie's presence.

Chloe had immediately seized the opening and dashed forward, dragging a chocking and tear-stained Trixie out of the men's' fighting zone. Chloe panted, tears of relief were streaking down her own face. She cuddled her daughter who was breathing with rasping labour, in and out, in and out, making sure that her girl was alive and whole. As relief flooded her and har arms became jelly, Chloe propped the girl up against the wall of the edge rim. "Trixie, Trixie, Honey! Can you hear me? Please, wake up! Look at me! Everything's fine, mommy is here!"

Trixie blinked owlishly, breath rattling in her chest. She took in the ongoing fighting before her as if she watched a Disney movie. "See, mommy?" she whispered, "I _told_ you that that Lucifer is an Angel! I dreamt it several times!" A ghostly smile briefly flashed across Trixie's features. She closed her eyes briefly, but then, slowly, the sense of the harsh reality came creeping back. It was not over yet!

Meanwhile, Cain was losing the battle, but not his wits. He bled from several wounds that Lucifers' sharp-like-knives primaries and iron fists had cut him. As strong as the Immortal was, the tall muscular man was physically no match for the winged former Archangel-slash-Lor-of-Hell in his full-fledged rage! But Cain had still an ass up his sleeve. He had lived on earth for millennia - a lot of time to perfect fighting techniques and tricks!

Cain collected all his remaining, quickly dwindling strength. He punched Lucifer onto the solarplexus as hard as he could muster and while the Devil chocked for a split second, he threw himself down to the floor and rolled out of his enemies' wings' reach. Cain lost no time! Up he was and in one swift movement, he grabbed Chloe, who was still kneeling close to her daughter, dragged her up and shoved her to the edge of the roof.

"NOW I'll give you something to DO, DEVIL!" he snarled and pushed. Before Lucifer could grab and hold her, in a flash of lightning, she stumbled. Lucifer could see Chloe's helpless glance of dawning horror, her legs and arms flailing as she tried to regain her balance. Then she fell over the edge and beyond sight.

The devils' desperate scream of fury and Cain's laughter mixed with the girls' scream of utter horror as she watched her mother fall. In one gush of thunderstorm and whirling wings, Lucifer was gone! Trixie jumped onto her feet to run for the edge. But when Cain, grinning like mad, advanced on the girl, she reacted instinctively. Her skater training payed off: Trixie dashed across the roof, her heart pounding frantically, zig-zagging like a rabbit, a roaring Immortal hot on her heels.

Lucifer's heart raced. NO! He could not lose Chloe! He knew that the Lux building had just a height of about 100 meters that allowed only three to four seconds of free fall. This demanded drastic actions: Lucifer mustered all his concentration and crossed the infernal plane. He emerged out of thin air at the midst of the building in a downward-diving motion, just as Chloe shot past him, screaming. Her arms and legs were stretched out and flailing, slowing her gravity accelerating fall. Lucifer sped up with his wings and pulled them in to skydive.

He managed to catch Chloe barely 20 meters before they both hit the ground. His wings slowed their fall but with her in his arms, even with his most powerful beating of wings, they were too damn fast! He pulled her towards his chest as her terrified large blue-grey eyes searched and found his dark ones in one desperate glance. Her mouth formed words he did not hear as their hearts pounded in their ears. Lucifer pulled over, to manoeuvre himself under her, so that _he_ would take the blow of the impact. He closed his eyes to prepare for the pain to come.

The impact stalled. As Lucifer opened his eyes, he was hanging suspended in mid-air, just waist-height above the pavement, a frozen, immobile Chloe in his arms. What was more, he peered up into the face of his grinning oaf of a big brother, who still held his hands in his typical time-slowing gesture. " _Luci, I did it again!_ " Amenadiel's voice was jubilant, his dark features radiated from within by a joyful smile. "Seems I can only do it when someone I love is in danger!" he mused, his features all white teeth and angelic joy. Next to Amenadiel stood a frozen-in-movement Linda, her eyes wide, her hands covering her moth. Linda's face clearly conveyed that they both had watched Chloe's fall in horror from down below.

Lucifer briefly closed his eyes as an overwhelming relief washed over him. Then he changed his awkward lying-on-the-back midair position (he looked as if he was draped on a divan, with him being Chloe's pillow) to an upright position, by flapping his wings and straightening himself. Lucifer still glowed in the wonderful feeling of Chloe's small frame scooped up securely in his arms, tucked against his chest, hear head under his chin. Lucifer heaved a mighty sigh. "Well, well, what do you know... I'll give you credit here, brother! Thank you! Please forgive me when I say I'd like to save the hugs for later..." A smile tucked at his lips as he patted Amenadiel on the shoulder, the most outspoken "I love you, brother, and I'm happy you were there for me" gesture the brothers had exchanged in recent history.

When Amenadiel let both his hands fall down, time, life and movement on earth started again but his enormous grin stayed. Chloe jerked forward with a tiny high-pitched scream and involuntarily clenched to Lucifer (who could not stop smiling, cuddling her, pecking her head with his lips). Until she realized in wonder that she was standing upright on the pavement, being carefully held in her partners' arms. Lucifers arms... really? Chloe blinked and tried to make sense of what had just happened. His warm whiskey-sandel-wood smell somehow calmed her down slightly _._ But still... _what the hell had been going on...?_ Chloe glanced around, dizzy and befuddled. Lucifer immediately opened his arms to allow her free movement. "What... has happened...?" Chloe blinked around.

Linda saved the day, again: She rushed forward and pulled Chloe into a warm embace, to ground her friend, and give her back a sense of reality, standing there, lost between the two large Celestials. Not to forget about the skydiving revelation stunt that Lucifer and Amenadiel had just pulled. Linda was so glad, she laughed out her joy and relief! She drew back a bit and turned to the two large men, Chloe still in her arm, facing them. " _Amenadiel, Lucifer, oh boys, you did it_! You really did it! My Angels! You saved her!" Linda shouted, her voice cracking with emotion. Being a Celestial insider was paying off, she guessed: Linda looked at the befuddled Chloe and used her best "everything is-just-fine-we-just-analyse-it therapist voice.

"You see, Chloe, Lucifer is exactly who he always said he is. The Devil. Aka Satan, aka Lord of Hell, Old Scratch... whatever you want (Lucifer smiling at her like a Cheshire cat) aaaand he's a former Archangel, so there's that, right?" Chloe nodded at Linda like a girl at school, eyes round, mouth slightly hanging open. "Aha, mhm, I see", was all she managed to say, still sounding as if she did not believe a _word_ Linda was saying.

Lucifer, foreseeably, pulled a face and muttered, "I'm the _Devil_ , not a freakin' _Angel_!" at Linda who shot him a "shut-up-now" glance. Linda could see that it slowly dawned on Lucifer that his skydiving revelations would come with consequences for his relationship with Chloe. Ony that they had their lowest point already. So the revelation could only improve things between them, right?

"Aaaand Amenadiel's an Angel too, his gift is slowing time", Linda continued, voice still calm-therapist. Amenadiel grinned and nodded at Chloe, still victorious about his latest time-slowing success, Lucifer mutting "and here comes Daddy's boy again!" in the background.

"Aha", Chloe responded, again. Linda mused that she might not have taken in a word she had been saying about Amenadiel. Chloe still gaped at Lucifer as if she saw him for the first time: His hair wind-swept and all curly, his face shining with his overwhelming joy of having her alive and save. Now mixed with a dawning "oh-fuck-what have-I-done" sort of expression. The well-known sweet kicked-Lucifer-puppy-dog face she loved and hated. So far, so good, the usual Tuesday! But he had these majestic pure white, glowing wings on his back, folded neatly. With the wing shoulders lurking above his head. "Lucifer, what..." Chloe mouthed and moved her hand forward to touch his right wing. When her hand made contact Lucifer could feel her touch like an electrical surge through his body. The rumbling thunder echoed his feelings. Lucifer's shudder had Chloe draw back her hand.

"Tsk, tsk, not so quick! The proper etiquette is to ask first, and to touch only after permission," Amenadiel grinned at Chloe, who looked taken aback by her own daring, mouth still open in wonder. Lucifer shifted a bit uneasy from one foot to the other. Why did the detective not say something...? He did not mind if she touched him... it had been eons since someone had touched his wings with a loving gesture. "Please, go ahead..." Lucifer said while Chloe uttered a low-voice "I'm sorry...". Both peered at each other, lost in each others' eyes.

Before they could dive further into the niceties of Angel etiquette, however, a thin but piercing shriek had them all jerk their heads upwards. To their utter horror, they saw two tiny figures tumble down from the top of the Lux building – Trixie, held fast in the grip of Pierce! He had finally succeeded in catching the girl and he had thrown them both over the edge!

Lucifers jaw tightened. It was not over yet! He'd forgotten the offspring. Beatrice! The poor girl had been alone with a mad immortal Cain who was determined to _end_ himself! In a gush of feathers, Lucifer vanished. He reappeared in the blink of an eye in mid-air next to the falling pair, grabbed them, pumping his wings. Chloe's heart stuttered in her chest as she witnessed a horrible air-borne fight for her daughter. Who looked like a rag doll in the grip of giants wrestling each other for the price!

The last thing Chloe heard consciously was how Amenadiel exhaled slowly. She and Linda saw him press his hands together, as if the air in between needed compression... Chloe blinked. The next thing she witnessed was a horrible _tump_ of a body hitting the pavement. Then, silence fell.


	2. A departure and a new beginning

**Chapter 2: A departure and a new beginning**

When a body hits the pavement from greater heights, the sound is unforgettable nauseating. Chloe remembered her good friend Jamie, who worked for the New York firefighters. When he had last visited during his holidays, he had admitted it to her. When they sat together at the beach watching the sunset during his visit, he confessed that the sound of bodies hitting the pavement, when people jumped off the burning world trade centre 9/11, would haunt him in his nightmares until his dying day. No matter how many years had passed.

Chloe forced her legs into motion. Besides her, Amenadiel and Linda were hot on her heels. Finally, the rain started to pour down heavily. Wind gushes ripped on their clothes. They ran forward to peer around the group of bushes and palm trees that blocked the view on the body – or bodies? _Please, please, God, or Lucifer's Dad? Please, let it not be Trixie! Or Lucifer!_ Chloe's mind trembled with fear, hear heart racing.

Amenadiel looked grimly this time, cheery grin no longer place. Linda tucked on his sleeve as she ran along after Chloe and the big angel, the rain plastering her hair to her face, her glasses foggy. "What did you do, Amenadiel? Tell me! Who fell? Where is Lucifer? Where's Trixie?", she shouted over the storm. The sturdy Angel did not answer. Instead, he grabbed Linda's hand and tore the tiny woman forward.

Cain was laying in the midst of a clearing surrounded by bushes, eyes still open, rapidly bleeding out. His left arm and right leg were obviously broken multiple times. They were torn at an odd angel. There were cuts all over his throat and body, none of them deadly, but taking their toll. Bloodied foam trembled on his lips with every rasping breath; some broken ribs had clearly pierced his lungs. Cain's eyes became glassier by the minute. _He had finally done it! He could feel it!_ A smile of grim satisfaction crossed Cain's features. Finally, he would vanish from the face of the earth. A cruel earth that he had walked so long, an eternity of punishment!

Chloe reached him first. "Marcus! Can you hear me?" She fell to her knees by his side, mixed feelings tearing through her. She wanted to take his hand, to call an ambulance although she could see that it was too late; to give him consolation. There lay the man who had been her steady rock the last couple of months. Her self-declared boyfriend whom she had slowly enter her life! But there also lay the abductor of her daughter, the man who had not given a _damn_ to whether her child lived or died, as long as he was able to fulfil his dark desire... to kill himself! To die! This was utter madness! "Should we not call the ambulance?" Linda whispered. "No, in this case... not", Amenadiel responded, "Trust me. You will understand. Soon."

As Chloe, Amenadiel and Linda surrounded the obviously dying man, they heard a distant shouting from above, Dan's voice. He was standing on the balcony of Lucifer's penthouse, gesticulating like mad, and then disappearing as he dashed backwards and rode downwards with the elevator.

Looking up to where Dan had pointed, they saw how an _Angel_ descended, majestic white wings beating the air, Trixie in his arms. For some unknown reason, Chloe registered that the particular angel in question still wore red-soled dandy shoes, which ruined the Angel vision somewhat and turned him...into her partner... the freaking _Devil_. With Angel wings! Lucifer had been telling her the truth from day one! Seeing him like this was even more "rubbing it in" than having been saved by him herself. As Lucifer approached, the "Angel vision thingy" was further ruined: They could see that his wings and his entire appearance was not as pristine as they used to be. The sharp fanning primaries were drenched in red, his wings sprinkled with red and dirt, his clothes bloodied, ripped and torn, his lip bleeding and his left eye rapidly turning blue and green (close to Chloe as he was).

Lucifer was panting heavily when he touched down. He fell forward to his knees, his arms trembling, his now soaking wet, bloodied wings sagging to the floor. His blood or Marcus'? Chloe wondered. Lucifer just barely managed to let Trixie slide down without dropping her in the first place. Only the girl would not let go of him: She wrapped her tiny arms around his torso and hid her face in his chest, squeezing her eyes shut, still trembling and panting. For reasons Lucifer did not want to examine he felt content in keeping Beatrice in his embrace, strange as that was (and in the end, Maze was not here to make fun of him after all!).

It was Chloe's voice, mixed with Dan's who came bolting across the lawn from the Lux building, shouting for his girls, that finally brought Trixie out of her freeze. Dan threw himself down to Chloe's kneeling level and hugged her first, tears of happiness running down his face, then extended his arm to open their embrace to their daughter. Trixie finally abandoned her safety harbour at Lucifer's chest and joined the group hug with her parents.

Just for a second, in the drumming rain and gushing wind, the little hugging patchwork family on the lawn glowed like a space capsule of love and light against the thundering sky and down pouring rain. Even the Angel and the Devil could not help but feel touched, cheesy as the scene was!

Lucifer approached Cain and peered down on his nemesis. "You know, Cain, you got your wish, now! _Are you content?_ " Cain closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath, the bloody bubbles foaming on his lips. "I am", he croaked.

Lucifer sighted. "When I gave you my word that I would assist you in your quest to die, I had in mind to also help you avoid _Hell_." Lucifer's aura became darker. "You _were_ destined for Hell ever since you first killed your brother, Abel. Only my Dad gave you your special Hell treatment on earth. By preventing you from dying." Chloe's eyes grew round. She knew now, deep in hear heart, that it was all true...

Cain's blue eyes searched the Devils'. "And, so...?" he chocked. Still his own man. Proud. Lucifer straightened up, every inch the dark punisher he had once been. _He does not need his devil face to be scary. He radiates anger on all channels, since Pierce has messed with his loved ones_ , Linda thought.

Lucifer's voice was low and dangerous but sharp as a razor. "What do you think, where will you be going, now, that you tried to kill an innocent child and the, ah (here, the Devils' voice trembled) most _beautiful_ woman in the world, who entrusted you with her life? _And_ with that of her daughter...? Mmmh? TELL ME, CAIN!" Lucifer's voice had an unearthly thundering tone to it. Chloe held her breath. The huddling family was finally turning around, focusing their attention to the dying man.

"You desire is fulfilled, you will die! But WHERE will you be heading?" The Devil cocked an eyebrow at Cain whose face froze in horror. It slowly dawned on Cain what he had done. He had wrecked it, again, had used these people who had offeredhim nothing but their love. As a means to an end. As his rattling breath became shallower, his eyes dashed around, as if to find an exit.

It was Trixie who surprised them all. She finally left her parents' embrace and knelt by the side of the dying man. Her dark eyes bored into his desperate blue ones. "If you are really the Cain from the bible" (her eyes flicked briefly to Lucifer, who nodded) "you have been here for very long, right?" Trixie asked, in a low voice.

"Since the dawn of humankind", Lucifer confirmed in a murmur. Lucifer suddenly sounded eons old himself. "Then you have lost the ones you loved, again and again, did you?" Trixie continued. Her eyes searching his. Cain nodded, just with his eyes. He chocked. His eyes suddenly swam in tears. "You always knew that you would never see your loved ones again, because God would not let you enter heaven, right?" Again, Cain gave a weak nod. His lips trembled, his eyelids fluttered. "This is horrible..." The little girl closed her eyes in concentration and rocked forward and backward a few times at the spot where she sat. To comfort herself.

"Yes, personal Hell on earth, I'm afraid", Lucifer muttered, "Dad can really be unforgiving..." It was plain clear that he was not only speaking of Cain.

"Cain, can you still hear me?" Trixie enquired. Then she took the man's hand. His eyes fluttered opened again. More bubbles appeared around his lips. The glassy otherworldly look stole across his face, his cheeks suddenly flushed. Death was approaching. Trixie's voice was somehow stronger in his ears than before. Or was it because the roaring thunderstorm had temporarily ceased? "I understand now why you did what you did. But it was bad nevertheless, you know?" He nodded weakly with his eyes. He did understand that his actions had been wrong... And he would now enter his next hell, to regret his sins for all of the remaining eternity.

"You should have talked to us, mommy and me. Maybe we could have helped. But never mind..." Trixie hesitated. And then she said it. "...I _forgive_ you for what you have done to me. To my mommy. I do NOT need you to be in Hell, you know. You have paid up, I think" the girl said softly, smiling. Chloe looked at her little monkey in surprise. She felt the same, only that Trixie had put it perfectly. When she, Chloe, was Justitia, her daughter was... amazing grace. Both, the woman and the girl, smiled at each other, rejoicing in a shared happiness that they did not _need_ him punished _at all_. They set him free in their minds.

Trixie looked up, first to Lucifer, then up to the stormy night sky. "Ok...?" she whispered. Chloe's hair suddenly stood on edge as if a strange presence had touched them with the gushing wind. "He's had enough, don't you think?" Who had said that? Lucifer or Trixie? ...or someone else?

Trixie's expectant little child face, smiling at the heavens above as if she'd just discovered a wonderful secret, was the last earthly thing that Cain ever saw. His eyes broke. He left his millennia-old body. His soul cached a last glimpse downwards onto the group of people and Angels huddled around his broken body that started to fade into nothingness.

Briefly, joy filled him to the brim! He smelled the lands of his childhood, heard the laughter of his brother, as they roamed the fields together, bathing in an unearthly beautiful glow. Then – his self-consciousness vanished, dispensing into warm soft light.

The stormy wind suspired and wailed around them. "He's gone" Amenadiel whispered. "I think you got your whish, child", Lucifer added in a low voice, filled with awe. Lucifer suddenly looked young and vulnerable to Chloe. "You know... Cain... he - did not go to Hell... I can sense it!"

It had definitely not been the kind of party Lucifer had originally intended to throw for his friends. After they watched Cain's body disappear (which was really, really creepy, Linda admitted to herself as she clutched Amenadiels hand), Lucifer suggested in his usually cheery tone that they should all go up to his penthouse to have a proper drink. To calm back down, collect their wits, and particularly to warm themselves up, rain-soaked as they all were.

Linda again nailed it down. "Lucifer, no more going backwards, ok? This is your opportunity! You owe us a few explanations here!" Then she rounded to a grinning Amenadiel. "No reason to look smug, you know! You will assist him, right?" To which Amenadiel had stuttered his consent while Lucifer smirked at this brother.

With the Cain events, it finally turned out to be much better than anything Lucifer could have wished for. Chloe was still there beside him, stealing glances at him, full of wonder and... something else he could neither identify nor understand. Lucifer sighed. He had so much more to learn about human emotions. Why was she still glancing at him? He had tucked away his wings even before Cain died, so it could not be the wings she was glancing at, right? At least Chloe was not running for the hills, was she? Lucifer took it as a first glimpse of hope, refreshing rainfall after a long period of desert and drought in their relationship that she was still there with him!

As they all went up in the elevator, a subdued, soaked lot of exhausted people and former Angels, Dan approached Lucifer, shifting uneasy from one foot to the other. The Douche cleared his throat and looked into the Devils' eyes. "Hey man, thanks for saving our daughter! I saw what you did to save her from the balcony! Couldn't believe my bloody eyes! You were just... a damn hero, right? A hero with wings... I still need to wrap my head around all of this! Better than Wesley Cabot in body bags II, you know..?!"

Dan cleared his throat and looked away, uneasy. "I mean. If I owe you a favour, or my soul, or anything else then... it is just fine..." A grin curled around Lucifer's lips. The Douche had daring, he gave him that! Not only Chloe, but also _Dan_ had just overcome the revelation that his ex-wife's pain-in-the-ass ex-consultant was Satan himself.

Lucifer knew that Dan had been raised in an all-catholic household with all the usual brainwashing when it came to the Devil. Lucifer briefly considered charging Dan to hand over his star-autographed body bags collection. When he looked into Trixie's and Chloe's adoring faces (the later giving him funny side glances), on the other hand, it somehow did not sit right with the Devil to do that. Not even for making fun of Dan! Well, he really needed a drink right now!

At "...owe you my soul.." from Dan, Linda had started to giggle, then Amenadiel joined, then Lucifer could not help himself but laughed out loud at Dan's bewildered face. In the end, the entire elevator cabin rang with their laughter! They chocked and panted, looked at each other and broke into more laughter. They exploded with dissolving tension as if there was no tomorrow. Even Dan grinned, although he did not know what he had done to cause this tsunami of hilariousness!

The elevator finally dinged and spilled them all into Lucifer's penthouse, still chuckling. Thank Dad, some of the worst tension had dissolved. Their host the Devil spoke. "Ok, well... you know where my bathroom is. Please help yourself to dry clothes, and use everything you may need, will you? I will not accept charges for a bad cold, just because you did not change or take a hot bath, right?" Lucifer nodded at his friends, to downplay the awkward silence that had fallen when he had started to address them.

Lucifer strode directly to his bar to pull himself a drink, tipping it down in and instant. Then he recharged his glass and pulled more drinks for Linda and Dan. When he met Amenadiels eye, who grinned broadly at him, Lucifer sighed theatrically and bent down to prepare a Cosmopolitan. When he handed his brother the drink, Lucifer looked up and met Chloe's eye. She smiled at him in a way he had not seen for a long time: warm, gratefully, in an almost shy manner (which he hoped was a temporary thing!).

Chloe nodded to him and led Trixie to his large master bathroom, to give her little, soaked, tough girl a hot shower and help her change her clothes. And perhaps join her! Lucifer felt a blossoming warmth spread through his chest at the sight of "his" two girls, whole and alive, a feeling as if he'd already drowned two bottles of his best oak-matured whiskey. Lucifer knew there was a conversation to come, but just now, he just revelled in the happiness that they were with him – alive. On this plane of existence.

Linda took Daniel aside. "Lucifer is a good man, I mean, Devil, ok? He's not evil, nor is he after anyone's soul, right? That's where the bible gets him completely wrong. He _punished_ evil when it knocked on his doorstep, of the ugly house he was forced to keep. Which was Hell, fine, ok. But that is all, Dan." Dan looked into Linda's earnest eyes and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I can see that. Still, I will need time to wrap my head around it," Dan confessed. Lucifer preened a bit at Linda's words, strode forward and handed them their drinks. They clinked glasses.

"Nothing better than a golden aged whiskey to lift the spirits, or do head-around wrapping!" Lucifer's smile was genuine. He even felt lightheaded that they were all here, with him. No one running –yet. "Here's to you, man!" Dan's voice cracked with emotion. "If it were not for you..." "Don't get all teary, Dan, everything's fine! Just take a sip!" "Can I... can I talk to Charlotte about it, Lucifer? Does she know already? What... what did you have with her, anyway?

Lucifer sighed and started to explain the whole "Goddess hogged Charlotte's body" incident in brief words. With Daniel's mouth falling more and more open (and with Linda smiling knowingly and painfully) as he went on. "And that is why she does not remember you. I would prefer it if you do not go like a bull at a gate here, Daniel. She's figuring out how to be a better person and to avoid going to Hell, and at the same time, she's trying to make sense of her missing time. If you want to do her a favour, go easy on her. Charlotte Richards will come around. I am sure of it!" Lucifer emptied his forth drink and recharged his glass. And that of Dan. Dan nodded as many puzzle pieces clicked into place.

Dan turned his head and noticed Amenadiel smiling at him, sipping on his Cosmos, waiting. His body language offering contact. Dan decided that he would go on with questioning the other celestial in the room, for a change.

"Still want to join the Improv group..?" he asked. Amenadiel smiled. "Yes, Daniel, more than ever! I mean... perhaps, finally, I'll get the hang of it. Giraffe in labour and all of that! I even read about the birth-giving of Giraffes, for a change," Amenadiel told him, eagerly. "I like your improve class!" Dan could not help himself, he had to suppress grinning like a maniac at the big, broad-shouldered Angel who was so honest all the time. Who could, after all, really do with a bit of loosening up and learning how to be human! Improv was perfect for Amenadiel, Dan decided, grinning to himself. Plus, he would get more answers regarding celestial affairs as a bonus!

Trixie and Chloe re-emerged, both giving off hot steam. Both had chosen something from Lucifer's large closet: Chloe had picked the old Sol de Javier T-shirt for Trixie. It was way too long and looked like a summer dress on the girl, who had draped a golden drawstring chord around her waist which she had taken from the nearby drape curtains (Trixie had started finding pink dresses "ugly childish" and simple T-shirts "bulky", a clear sign that puberty was dawning on the horizon).

Chloe had not wanted to use a dress that an overnight visitor may have left in Lucifer's closet ("...and she left with nothing but a smile", she remembered). Instead, she had settled on choosing one of Lucifer's silken dress shirts, which was way too long for her. She had rolled up the sleeves, also those of the sweat pants she had found in the back of his closet (she still wondered if these were really Lucifers!).

Linda observed how the Devil went all silent when his two girls emerged and approached, barefoot. He forgot to answer Linda, his mouth slightly hanging open. He also forgot to take a sip, glass suspended in mid-air. He swallowed. Linda could not help but smile. Lucifer looked so adorably man-childish with his messed hair and his large, dark adoring eyes focused on Chloe. Who seemed somewhat shy or hesitant, to Linda's surprise. Linda wondered if this had to do with her being afraid of the Devil (she guessed not) or her having a guilty consciousness because she had never considered believing Lucifer in the first place.

But Thank-Dad there was Trixie, to dissolve the tension! The girl was clearly exhausted, but still excited and on high-alert, no surprise given her recent ordeal, her own skydiving Devil experience and her easing a dying man's parting. The girl even seemed older now than she had been when we came this afternoon for the party, Linda mused. Was it really the same day?

Trixie took the initiative; she pulled her hesitant mother towards Lucifer. She knew what she wanted to say! "Thank you, Lucifer, for saving mommy. And thank you for saving me! You are awesome!" The slender girl beamed up at him with breath-taking brightness. "Can you pick me up, just briefly? You are so tall and I want to hug you!" For once, Lucifer could hardly decline her request on the grounds of her being dirty and him being clean because, at the moment, it was clearly _him_ who needed a bath, while the girl smelled all fresh. The quicker the better, he thought. Lucifer could still smell Cain's blood on him... who would want to hug _him_ , now? Well, Trixie did!

Lucifer felt lost in the smiles of the girl and her mother. He cleared his throat. "Yes, well, if this is your desire, Beatrice, I shall surely oblige..." Lucifer did as she had asked and scooped her up. Surprisingly, he got two rewards: His first and foremost reward was the radiant smile that he saw spreading over Chloe's features when he picked up her daughter. He filed away that information for later. Second, he discovered that the girl did not hug him like a bench vise any longer. Rather, she was quite considerate. She carefully wrapped her arms around his neck without much squeezing and snuggled her head into the bend of his neck. Just a second, then she let go and touched his face injuries tenderly, first with her finger. Then she touched the skin under his blue-black eye fondly with her closed lips. No wet child kisses any longer! "Get better soon, Lucifer", the girl whispered, and he could sense that it came from the bottom of her heart. He, the Devil, had been kissed better! The strangeness of this day would not cease to amaze him. Lucifer swallowed and blinked his eyes repeatedly as he let the girl carefully slide down. Surely, there was just some dirt that had JUST gotten into his eyes, that was all!

Chloe was next. Her fond smile of seeing Satan embrace (and endure) her daughter, including his shiny eyes, ignited her features from within. Her blue-grey eyes sank into his dark ones. Chloe took his hands, carefully, running her thumbs back and forth over the inner of his palms. Lucifer felt her touch with his entire being. His lips opened slightly. Both looked down at their intertwined fingers, momentary at a loss for words. Then both spoke, simultaneously.

"I should have believed you all along, I'm so sorry, Lucifer!" "I'm sorry I did not insist and show you earlier, detective!" Both laughed but continued simultaneously, again: "I should not have trusted Marcus the way I did and dismiss working with you! I was so blind..." "I should have trusted your instincts all along, detective! Trust that you would not run, when you finally knew...!", Both nodded at each other like lunatics.

Trixie, who had observed the scene, finally pulled a face and decided that hugging time with her dad was overdue! She bounced to the couch where Dan was sitting, chatting with Amenadiel, and let herself topple over the backrest just into Dan's waiting arms. He embraced her, gratefully that she was still there to be held. Trixie curled up in his lap, content, always at home with both of her parents. She yawned.

Lucifer spoke first. "Detective, I insist that you take care of yourself and Beatrice after this ordeal. Please go home (he swallowed at the thought of her leaving) and get some well-deserved rest." Lucifer cleared his throat. "I dearly hope that I you will allow me to be there for your tomorrow, and each day you want me near you after tomorrow. To answer your questions. To explain things you might have witnessed around me in the past... now that you know." He paused. "And... there is Linda. I am sure she will help you to cope with everything, even if you do not wish to discuss it with me... be it Celestials, Immortals and all the rest!"

Chloe realized that Lucifers greatest fear was and always had been her, Chloe's, rejection. And that exactly she had done already, rejected him, rejected to be his partner, or the permanent target of his... _Luciferness_. Which, she knew now, had a perfectly reasonable background. Because he was, well, Lucifer. The Devil... At least in celestial terms, his reasons had been valid. She realized that, from now on, this would be part of her new universe. Lucifer gave her his best hopeful puppy-dog-eye smile. "Will you come back...?" he whispered.

Chloe nodded fervently. "Lucifer..." her voice trailed off, then she pulled herself together. "I apologize for being such a bad friend to you! It was just that when you...". He moved forward and put his forefinger onto her lips. She stilled at the unexpected gesture. He seldom stepped into her space in such a straightforward manner. "Sshh! Please, detective! It is not your fault!" He removed his finger and stepped back, afraid that he might have scared her (he didn't). "It was mine" (she shook her head at that, while he nodded), "mine all along! I was so angry at my father for taking away my devil face..."

"Is it _that_ what you showed all the perps who came up half-mad, your devil face?" she asked, fascinated. "And is _that_ what you tried to show me, after you were kidnapped...? And it dd not work, and you didn't know beforehand?" "Yes, exactly, detective!" He grinned, delighted, the old Lucifer back in place for just a second. Then his grin faded and he continued. "I was angry at Dad that he had taken my Devil face, after all the suffering I had to endure to make it my own in the first place! Instead, Dad he had given me back my stupid wings to enforce my service..."

"And did he do that? Enforce your service, I mean?" Chloe asked. They were talking about God, like, in GOD with a capital G, aka Lucifer's Dad... she still shuddered with the strangeness of it all. "No... now you mention it, funnily, He didn't..." Lucifer's brows furrowed.

"You know", Chloe continued, "without your wings... we would have both been dead tonight, Trixie and me... and Marcus..." Chloe still hurt inside, as the memories crept back. She closed her eyes and continued. "Marcus would not have found... his rest. Because he would have killed Trixie if it hadn't been for you saving her. You, the Devil with wings..." She smiled up at him. Lucifer looked stunned. Chloe could see that Lucifer would have to go a long way to reconsider old assumptions he had made about his father. This was no topic for tired fuzzy-brained humans! She rubbed her face in her hands, then looked up at him.

"Lucifer, what about you?" "What about me, detective?" "You are injured (she pointed at his face and his right rib cage where blood had soaked though his vest, blood that seemed to come from him, not Marcus). "Your wings... don't they need, I dunno, some care? Grooming? At least a clean-up, likely... is your shower even large enough for them...?" Chloe's practical down-to earth attitude seemed to be faster than her mind-wrapping-around-it-all with the new celestial stuff.

Lucifer remembered her touch at his right wing after he had saved her. He grinned his shit-eating grin for a second, before it faded into a warm afterglow. "At another time, I would have _loved_ to invite you to join me in the Jacuzzi, and aid me with wing- and otherwise Devil-grooming service". Lucifer smiled, then swallowed. "But for now, I am content if you will allow me to see you again tomorrow, after all of this..." he confessed. "Rest assured that I will be able to clean up the worst of the damage. I also do heal faster when you are not near me" "Then Marcus was right with what he shouted, there on the roof?" "Yes... Chloe, he was..." whispered the Devil.

"I see, there is so much for me to learn..." Chloe sighed and glanced over at the couch where Trixie was already sleeping in Dan's lap, while Linda and Amenadiel had an obviously sweet, low-voice conversation with a lot of joint chuckling. "Lucifer", she moved closer to him, gripping the lapels of his half-opened shirt. She looked adorably and more desirable than ever, with her wet hair, in his shirt and in his the rolled up pants! Chloe took his jaw into her hands endearingly, carefully, moving his face to look at her. Her blue eyes bored into his. She smiled. " _Never think that you are not loved, my sweet devil. Or that we, that I, would run from you, now that we know the truth. Please. Promise me you won't?_ "

He felt himself drown in her blue eyes. "If you say so, detective..." he breathed. Then Lucifer took her hand into his and kissed her palm in a shy gesture before he let her go. "I promise it, if you desire...?", he whispered. Chloe's eyes widened. She could not help but smile at him.

Then she turned to her ex-husband and daughter. "Time to get going, to get Trixie into her own bed for recovery, Dan". "I'm ready when you are, Chlo!" he confirmed. Dan stood up, the sleeping girl tugged against his chest. The three of them stood at the elevator doors when Trixie stirred and started mumbling in her sleep. _"...knew you had wings, Lucifer...dreamt it, always..._ " her murmuring voice trailed off. "She's drawn you with wings so often I can't count", Chloe admitted, "she always insisted on that detail and no one could convince her otherwise". Chloe smiled. Now Lucifer's eyes went wide.

Lucifer stared at the closed doors. Hope was expanding in his chest like a colourful balloon. Everything was new, was different, needed discussion and adjustment... but tomorrow! Lucifer cached his own reflection in the mirror and frowned. Hair all curly, dirty, bruised and bloody! Damn, he was a mess! How could they have _liked_ him? He would have to burn those clothes and he would have to spend eons in his Jacuzzi to get his hair and feathers cleaned! Then, Chloe's voice swam to the back of his mind, "Never think that you are not loved...". Maybe he did not need to be perfect all the time...? An entirely new thought that he needed to explore. But first, he needed a bath for sure!

Amenadiel and Linda prepared for leaving. Linda chuckled. "You know what, boys...?" she smiled fondly at the two brothers, "I'm SOOOO damn glad that I'm not the only celestial insider any longer!" With a warm smile, Linda left, with Amenadiel following suit on her heels.

As Lucifer lay in his large bath tube, soaking his bloodied wings in the hot water, he could not stop dreaming. About a new, different and brighter future. With the detective. Somehow. And musing. About what it all meant. That Cain had been spared another Hell, after his earthly one, despite the monstrosity of his actions. Because of one special, miracle-born, forgiving girl and woman? Or did his Dad show his hand here, perhaps a new mood of his? Or was it both, combined?

The detective has had free will all along. Lucifer had come to realize it the hard way, when she had decided against him. But his wings, the stupid wings that had grown back again and again, persistent little buggers, these wings had allowed him to save her. And the girl. Lucifer peered up at the now clear, starry sky. His own stars blinked at him, content. For the first time in eons, Lucifer did not feel the need to swear or oppose. He felt old and young, tired and curious. What would the future bring? At least a future that would still include the humans he had come to... love. He smiled at the starry sky and closed his eyes.


End file.
